CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) -
Day three of testimony has begun in the mitigation phase of the Anthony Sowell murder trial.
Allan Sowell, the half brother of the serial killer, was first to take the stand.
Allan was asked by their father to "look after Anthony" as a child. He describes him as a "good kid." Sowell appeared somewhat emotional listening to his half-brother speak.
Prosecutors cross-examination focused on Allan's interaction with Anthony. They are pushing the idea that Anthony wasn't unhappy.
Nolen Coleman was next on the stand, he is a former Marine who says he doesn't know Sowell. Coleman gave a general description of Marine boot camp, and also said they learned how to administer a choke hold. All of Sowell's victims were strangled.
Elayne Sowell was next on the stand. She was married to his half-brother, Butch. She had little interaction with Anthony and contributed little.
Delman Henderson, a Sheriff's Corrections Officer, was next on the stand. Henderson works on the 10th floor of the Cuyahoga County jail where Sowell is held.
Sowell nodded when Henderson was asked if there were disadvantages to being in lock-up. Prosecutors had hammered at their contention that Sowell is getting special attention like a television and meals served to him.
Roosevelt Lloyd was next on the stand, and delivered the morning's most compelling testimony. Lloyd was a former cellmate of Sowell at the Grafton Correctional Institution. Sowell got very emotional when Lloyd described their friendship, and voiced his support for his former cellmate.
Lloyd made a passionate plea to the jury to let Sowell live. He said, "killing him won't bring anybody back." Sowell was seen crying and wiping tears from his face during Lloyd's testimony.
Jurors convicted Sowell of mass murder last month. The 51-year-old was found guilty of murdering eleven women and burying their bodies in and around his Imperial Avenue home in Cleveland.
The same jury that convicted Sowell must now decide whether he spends the rest of his life behind bars or is sent to death row.
Copyright 2011 WOIO. All rights reserved.
